April 2007 presents the perfect opportunity for Nigeria to rewrite her history. Through the Elections, we are expected to elect individuals whom we believe are capable of midwifing and safely delivering the positive change we so desperately desire in our nation.
It is to these individuals we will relinquish most of our rights as Nigerian citizens because they will be expected to make all the decisions in relation to health care, education, good roads, clean drinking water, housing, etc and we will hope against hope that they will begin the hard and painful process of reconstruction and rebuilding of the broken bridges and failed promises that will pave the way for many of us to become useful, productive and responsible leaders within and outside the African continent.
Every Nigerian must therefore realize that this process is hard, painful, rough, uncertain, winding, etc. We must begin this process by making commitments to ourselves and our unborn children. The simple fact is we must at some point begin to take responsibility for our actions and our future...Our children and indeed generations unborn will suffer from our complacency or benefit immensely from our positive constructive actions. For too long, our people have been failed by our so called rulers and politicians who have perfected the act of stealing and enriching themselves. The plundering and vandalisation of our collective inheritance have gone on for too long and must stop.
This is precisely why millions of Nigerians have no confidence in the system; whether at the political, economic or social levels. Indeed, the majority of Nigerians believe the next political dispensation like the ones gone by is doomed judging from the caliber of majority of the aspirants. Does any one blame them? Of course no! I personally do not blame any one who feels that Nigeria is a failure.
I was really embarrassed a couple of days ago when the Nigerian Vice President was interviewed on BEN TV. The date was 20th of November 2006 to be precise. He was asked by Gbola Oba if it was true that he would declare to run for the presidency on the 25th of November. His answer was that he would declare very shortly. While this was understandable in the face of political expediency, his answer to the next question was very embarrassing to me. This was the next question. Sir, you have been in Government for over 7 years. What will you do differently from what you have done in the last 7 years? Put in another way, what issues are you going to campaign on? What new ideas would you be bringing into Government? (not in quote)
The VP’s response: Watch the TV, read the newspapers and listen to the radio. You will see my issues when I declare. News flies very quickly so you will hear within a few minutes after I declare what my issues are (not in quote).
For God’s sake, this is a presidential aspirant who wants to rule the Nigerian nation and its diverse and dynamic people in 5 months time, yet he could not tell Nigerians everywhere in the world what issues he would be addressing in office. I was deeply saddened by this interview because 5 days later, the VP actually declared his intention to run the presidential race although he stopped short of declaring for a political party (for obvious reasons) while reading from a prepared speech yet he could not tell us the same thing 5 days before.
But knowing the Nigerian psyche, these are the category of people who would probably emerge as party flag bearers and a possible president. God forbid! In order to successfully reject an imposition of any money bag, money miss road, indicted criminals, etc, we need to arm ourselves with the necessary information and education we require to go out there and make a decision.
Although the Nigerian Minister for Information is not aspiring to be president (at least not yet), if the recent comments by him are anything to go by, then I cannot help but feel really sorry for our country. His comments actually justify the lack of belief in the system that Minister of Information after Minister of Information since the Babangida days still do not see beyond their noses and are still engulfed in their propagandist theories spending Nigeria’s money on junkets abroad only to come and castigate Nigerians in Diaspora and refer to us as inconsequential and not in touch with the realities on ground in Nigeria. We may not be living in Nigeria but we are in touch with the realities on ground because our pockets and bank accounts feel the pinch every month.
This is the reason why I support candidates like Prof Pat Utomi, presidential aspirant and leader of the restoration group who would tell you what the issues are even if he is woken up from a deep slumber at 3am. He is in touch with both the ordinary and rich people of Nigeria both at home and in diaspora. So far, he is the only aspirant who has been talking about issues. No other candidate is as passionate about the issues facing Nigerians like Pat Utomi. He is a young intellectual, a progressive, a visionary who knows what the issues are and knows how to turn them around for good. He has crisscrossed the length and breadth of the country visiting the nooks and cranies and meeting people to find out what their problems and ideas are. He is consulting with the Nigerian diaspora because he believes in us! He has stated this time and time again. Any right thinking Nigerian knows that you cannot brush the Nigerian diaspora aside. A diaspora that runs into millions of people and responsible for remitting billions of USD home every year to sustain family members in terms of access to food, shelter, education, power, health, etc cannot be overlooked and referred to as inconsequential.
Prof Pat Utomi believes in the Nigerian Diaspora. He has repeatedly expressed his desire in the Nigerian Diaspora in whose hands our economic renaissance lies. He has been speaking about his vision for our beloved country. He posits that joining politics has been an education for him, which has strengthened his resolve to forge ahead because that is the only way the country, can be saved from going down the abyss. Shrugging our shoulders and saying Nigeria is dead and nothing can be done about it is not a solution. Everyone stands to benefit from a new Nigeria.
Pat Utomi believes in the rule of law. He contends that one of the problems with foreign investment in Nigeria is that foreigners think that they cannot be assured of justice in Nigeria. He says, talking to a lot of foreign investors who would like come to Nigeria and invest, one of the things that they finally make their minds on is, if they have a dispute with somebody in some area, could they have it addressed in a court of law, and they invariably come to the conclusion that they cannot. He agrees that we have a duty to ensure that the rule of law is fundamental in guarding and guiding how we engage. Prof Utomi, concludes that it would be a grave danger if we abandon the rule of law for whatever reason.
Prof Utomi is also critical of money politics as I am sure most Nigerians are which we allow to get in the way of our country finding progress. If politics is about people who are wealthy, willing to spend their ill gotten money, then they would behave like investors. Like any good businessman, if you invest in a business, what do you expect that business to do for you? Bring returns. That is why Nigeria has continued to decay. Our politicians invest in Nigeria by buying the people’s votes and they certainly expect returns. True. Infact, I am dreading the number of hours it will take me to travel from Lagos to see my mum when I arrive Nigeria in 4 weeks. For this, I am truly ashamed.
Like President Clinton, Prof Utomi has a vision for the Nigerian people. We have an opportunity to buy into this vision and make our country great again. The Nigerian project is our collective destiny. The Nigerian project as it stands now has taken away the dignity and self worth of almost every Nigerian. It is almost an offence to present a Nigerian passport at any port of entry in the West. The Western media whose governments aid and abet corruption in Nigeria look for the slightest opportunity to demonise all Nigerians.
Like I said earlier on, it is a long hard road, but we must rise up to the challenge. We’ve been told by some people in the diaspora, even here on the NVS website that Prof Utomi has no chance in hell and all that. I believe it is in our best interest to change our political mindset from that of corruption to one of vision. The vision that puts the Nigerian citizen in the centre of decision making. The vision that ensures accountability and integrity.
What do we have to do then to achieve this? We need to get involved in a process of mass mobilization. We need to shift a little bit from our comfort zones. If you are offered bribe and think if you do not collect it, you would be seen as an enemy and ultimately marked for elimination, then my advice? Take the money but go and vote for the right candidate who has your genuine interest at heart and not the one who believes he can buy you and enslave you for the rest of your life. Cunning man die, cunning man bury but be a wiser cunning man. Beat them at their own game. Show them the red card.
The Nigerian media have a critical role to play as well. We are all witnesses to how intimidation failed to stop the African Independent Television’s (AIT) determination to expose the events that went on in camera in the Federal House of Representatives by our senators and how the third term agenda subsequently collapsed. Sadly, some media houses have been used as weapons of opposition to harass perceived political opponents. Although freedom of the press is paramount, that freedom comes with responsibility in reporting issues – facts!
Back to what to do. We will encourage our friends, peers, colleagues and family members, any one who has voting rights in Nigeria to participate in the elections. Those of us who can travel home to vote since we have no voting rights abroad will do so in order to exercise our civic responsibilities. We will mobilize any Nigerian whose conscience has not been sold to the devil to go the polls. I am yet to see a Nigerian who thinks everything has been rosy in Nigeria. If that is the case, that everyone believes Nigeria is corrupt, no thanks to successive administrations, why then do we still allow thieves and vagabonds to continue ruling us? There is power in people power. Silence is complacence. Stand up and be counted. I will!!!!
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